The present invention relates to a marching bass drum supporting structure, a marching bass drum, and a carrier.
In the prior art, a carrier (holder) used exclusively for a marching bass drum (hereafter simply referred to as a “bass drum”) is known. One example of such a carrier is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,407. The carrier enables the drummer to play the bass drum with its drum heads held in a vertical state. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a carrier 111 for a bass drum 110, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,407. In FIG. 14, the side of the drum farthest from the drummer when the drummer is wearing the carrier 111 is hereafter referred to as the “front” of the drum.
As shown in FIG. 14, the carrier 111 includes two reverse U-shaped straps 112, an abdomen contact plate 113, and an arm 114. The abdomen contact plate 113 comes into contact with the drummer's abdomen. The arm 114 links the straps 112 and the abdomen contact plate 113. A J-shaped hook 115 is arranged on the front end of each strap 112 near the portion connected to the arm 114. Each hook 115 is arranged so that its hooking portion is oriented upward and projected frontward. Two J-shaped rods 116 are fixed to the abdomen contact plate 113 by brackets 117. Each rod 116 is arranged so that its hooked portion is oriented frontward and projected upward.
The drummer wears the carrier 111 by placing the straps 112 over his or her shoulders so that the abdomen contact plate 113 contacts the abdomen of the drummer. The two hooks 115 of the carrier 111 are respectively engaged with two rings 118, which are arranged on the shell of the bass drum 110. Further, the distal ends of the rods 116 contact the shell of the bass drum 110 from underneath. In this way, the bass drum 110 is held by the carrier 111.
However, in the prior art structure described above, a clearance large enough to facilitate removal of the bass drum 110 from the carrier 111 is provided between the hooks 115 and the drum-side ring 118. Further, the weight of the bass drum 110 is supported by the rods 116 from underneath. Thus, when the drummer marches, the bass drum 110 vibrates. This produces noise from between the bass drum 110 and the rings 118 or from between the shell of the bass drum 110 and the rods 116.
Further, when an upward force is applied to the bass drum 110, such as when the drummer jumps, the bass drum 110 may easily be jolted upward. In such a case, the bass drum 110 may be separated from the rods 116.
Therefore, to prevent the bass drum 110 from being separated from the carrier 111 even if the bass drum 110 is jolted upward during performance, in the prior art structure, the rings 118 of the bass drum 110 cannot be disengaged from the hooks 115 unless the bass drum 110 is lifted until the bass drum 110 is located far from the rods 116 in the upward direction. However, this structure has a shortcoming in that the removal of the bass drum 110 from the carrier 111 is difficult.
Additionally, with the supporting structure of the carrier 111, the bass drum 110, which is hung on the two hooks 115, is supported by the two rods 116. Thus, if the two rods 116 are displaced, the bass drum 110 may be held in a state inclined to the drummer and result in the bass drum 110 being held unstably.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a marching bass drum carrier and a marching bass drum that prevent vibrations from moving a marching bass drum upward and away from the carrier, while stably holding the marching bass drum.